My journey to Judaism began on my first date with my future wife in 1982. It may have taken me 30 years to become a Jew officially, but one’s identity is an evolving concept, rather than a static state of mind.

Neither the war-weary American public nor the Syrian opposition wants a full-scale U.S. land invasion to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but the United States still can pursue a measured but assertive course.